RANCHO SANTA FE

Known affectionately as “The Ranch,” at one time Rancho Santa Fe was a Native American settlement. In 1989, Rancho Santa Fe was designated as a State Historical Landmark by the state government. Today, it is the wealthiest and most exclusive community in America.

The landscape is reminiscent of Tuscany with spectacular mountains, green pastures, winding country roads, rolling eucalyptus-covered hills, and citrus groves. At 245 feet above sea level, average temperatures range from 55 degrees in January to 88 degrees in August, typically with a balmy 6-7 MPH breeze. In the afternoon, the luminous sky is often filled with brilliantly colored hot air balloons.

A number of restrictions set Rancho Santa Fe real estate apart from other communities. Development is limited to Spanish architecture and there are no traffic signals, sidewalks or street lights. Streets cannot have more than two lanes and outside of downtown they are all lined with trees. Very few of the homes are visible from the road and none of them have street addresses.

Median home prices in Rancho Santa Fe are well over $2,000,000. Most home sites are 2-4 acres in size.

Rancho Santa Fe was developed in the early 1900s by the Santa Fe Land Company, which purchased the land to grow eucalyptus trees for railroad ties. When they realized eucalyptus wasn’t suitable, they hired an architect to develop an equestrian community.

Today’s low profile residents relish the privacy the exclusive Covenant of Rancho Santa Fe affords. With just over 3,000 residents, Rancho Santa Fe is a close-knit family and community service oriented village, which supports a number of charitable and educational institutions as well as theater, art and music.

Rancho Santa Fe has clubs for gardening, riding, polo, golf, tennis and bridge, as well as a Rotary Club, a Newcomers’ Club, and a Republican Women’s Club. The Community Center has a large multi-purpose room for half-court basketball, gymnastics, fitness programs, volleyball, media productions, lectures, musical and dance performances and little theater.

The Country Friends is a 2,500 member non-profit organization that supports San Diego County charities. The Friends host luncheons three times a year and an annual outdoor fashion show. The Rancho Santa Fe Foundation promotes responsible and effective philanthropy.

Citizens of Rancho Santa Fe enjoy more than 40 miles of horseback riding trails and fishing on beautiful Lake Hodges. The village itself boasts a library, very highly rated schools, a charming selection of elegant shops and the historic Inn at Rancho Santa Fe, “Where a bygone era of gracious rural living has never gone by.” They like to say that in the Inn, “Time ceases to tick and begins to flow”.

In addition to being rated as one of the top communities in the Nation, the 2000 Census identified Rancho Santa Fe as home to the highest per capita income in the nation.

Where you live says something about you. Living in Rancho Santa Fe says a lot!